Do you have a website that you hope will bring in traffic and revenue? Is it not performing the way you expected? If you have an underperforming or new website, you may have made one of the three mistakes that are common to webmasters. Any one of these mistakes can keep your site from bringing in the income you want.

Lack of a plan

Before you create a new website, you should have a business plan and marketing strategy. Without this, you are building in the dark. It’s like trying to build a house with no architectural plans. You may end up with some kind of structure, but it won’t be sturdy or functional.

A business plan for your new website should answer the following questions:

What are the products or services your business provides?

Who is your target customer and what is your market?

What benefits will customers receive from your products or services and what problems do you solve?

Who are your competitors and how can you stand out against them?

Part of your strategy should consist of measuring your effectiveness. What traffic is your site bringing in and what is the bounce rate? Are your visitors being converted on your site? Using an analytics tool such as Google Analytics allows you to measure the results from your website so you know where you need to make improvements.

When creating your marketing strategy, you must understand Search Engine Optimisation and know what you need to do to bring in more traffic. You may include PPC as part of your strategy, but other aspects are important too. In fact, PPC can enhance your overall website marketing, but organic search results are still essential. Consider where you will promote your brand on social media as well.

Looking for quick results from your new website

A second mistake that is common for web creators is thinking that they can set up a site in a short amount of time and then leave it alone. Creating an effective website that reaches the target audience is often achieved by trial and error. That is why using an analytics tool is essential. It allows you to review your decisions to see which ones are working and which ones are failing.

The same holds true for using social media. Not only do you have to monitor your networks to see which sites are bringing in the most traffic, you have to ensure that you are using them effectively. Do certain types of posts result in more engagement from your followers? Do they just like your content or do they share it with their friends?

Expect to spend a lot of time in the beginning working on your site and tweaking it. Even if you outsource some of the work, you still have to manage it.

Once you have what you feel is a good website, it may still take several months for your work to pay off. Inbound marketing isn’t something that works overnight; it can take a few months before you know if your strategy is a success.

Focusing on design or the message

Some people focus on making their sites ‘pretty’ as opposed to effective. It is important that the design is easy on the visitor and that they can navigate around the site easily. You also have to beware of those elements that can distract your visitors from the purpose of them being there. Sometimes the best website is the one that is simple and allows the message to shine through.

Avoid these three mistakes to create a winning new website that serves your purpose.

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https://www.hypercube.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/website-mistakes.jpg305660Aaron Enrighthttps://www.hypercube.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/logo.pngAaron Enright2014-04-03 10:02:312017-02-14 12:05:143 Common mistakes when building a new website